Who and How Many Marvel Characters Can Be Cured or Depowered by Anti-Venom?

Marvel's Anti-Venom has always been a mysterious character, often seen as a lesser-known villain compared to his symbiotic counterpart, Venom. Nevertheless, the character's abilities have significant implications for the superhero universe. In this article, we explore the limits and specifics of Anti-Venom's powers, focusing on whether and how it can cure or depower various Marvel characters.

Anti-Venom as a Humanoid Antibody

Anti-Venom is essentially a human-like antibody, derived from the Symbiotes. Antibodies are proteins produced by the immune system to combat foreign substances, such as viruses. Following this logic, Anti-Venom's powers are limited to targets that are not naturally occurring in the body. This principle can help us understand which characters can be affected by Anti-Venom.

Anti-Venom vs. Venom and Spider-Man

Both Venom and Spider-Man derive their powers from foreign origins: radiation for Spider-Man and an extraterrestrial symbiote for Venom. Given this, Anti-Venom's abilities pose a threat to these characters, especially since their powers are not naturally part of their genetic makeup.

Limited Depowerment of Superheroes

Anti-Venom's depowerment ability is highly selective. It can depower individuals whose powers are derived from foreign material. For example, a character like Captain America, whose super-soldier serum is a foreign substance, could be subject to Anti-Venom's effects. However, this ability would not likely impact characters like Thor, who possesses godly powers, or mutants, whose abilities are an inherent part of their genetic makeup.

Healing Touch and Biomass

Interestingly, Anti-Venom's touch also exhibits healing properties but only for its biomass. The more biomass Anti-Venom possesses, the more powerful its healing abilities become. This is reminiscent of the symbiotes' self-replenishing nature. However, if the symbiote's biomass is depleted, both the symbiote and the host suffer, as seen with the Eddie Brock and Flash Thompson versions.

Application and Scenario Limitations

Anti-Venom's healing touch is not instantaneous, and it requires physical restraint of the target to be effective. This limitation poses challenges in specific scenarios. For instance, healing a gamma mutate (a character whose body is genetically altered by gamma radiation) would be an extremely rare and unlikely event.

Conclusion

Thus, Anti-Venom represents a unique aspect of Marvel's superhero world. Its powers are both restrictive and selective, providing challenges and possibilities for the narrative. Understanding these limitations and abilities helps us appreciate the depth and complexity of Anti-Venom's role in the broader Marvel universe.